August 15, 2010: Gotcha Day for Our Kate

This morning we had to wake up at 3:30 am to catch a 8 am flight from Beijing to Xian (the Provincial Capital of Shannxi) where we will meet Kate for the first time.  We are travelling with 4 families whose children are also in Orphanages in Shaanxi...although only one other child in our group is from Yulin CWI.  The flight to Xian was uneventful and our CCAI guide, Sissia, met us at the airport.  We took a van  to the Xian Sheraton Hotel which is super nice.  Sean and I have an adjoining room with Mom and Caroline which is great.  At the Holiday Inn in Beijing, we where on the same floor but the rooms were not close at all.  We know that having Caroline close to Kate will make the transition for both of them easier...so I am very happy about the adjoining rooms.  Mom, Caroline and I started to unpack the suitcases and set up "house" so to speak for Kate.  There was a crib in the room for us already...it just makes it really begin to feel so real!  Caroline helped me set up all of the toys for Kate and get her crib ready with her new pink blanket that matches Caroline's blue one. 

 

While we worked on preparing the room for our new baby...Sean went with the other 3 Dads and Sissia to the bank which surprisingly was open on Sunday.  They had to get our US money changed into Chinese Yuan for all of the adoption expenses that we have to pay here in Xian.  One of the larger expenses is a child rearing fee paid to the Orphanage.  Last time we came to China we were able to wire this fee directly to the Orphanage...but only a few Orphanages are set up to receive wires.  Kate's Orphanage, Yulin CWI, is not, so we had to actually travel to China with the cash...which is just crazy!  Sean said when the Dads went into the bank and tried to change the US money, the bank tellers said that they didn't have enough Yuan to change the money for the 4 families...it was quite a scare...but Sissia had some pretty serious discussions with the bank manager and sure enough...out of the blue...the tone changed and they miraculously came up with all the Yuan that we needed!  Whew!!!

 

All the families met in the lobby at 3:20 pm and boarded the van to head to the Xian Civil Affairs Office to get the girls.  We took the elevator up to the 6th floor and it was so hot and smokey up there.  There is very limited air conditioning in China and it seems like everyone smokes cigarettes!!  We are just not used to that at all!  We waited in the hall by the elevators thinking that we would be called one by one by family into the office to get our daughter.  All of a sudden, a lady walks out with a baby in her arms...I immediately recognized the back of Kate's head!  I remember saying "That's my baby!" and walking up to the Nanny and Kate.  I had been preparing myself all along that Kate would not come to me easily and I was fully expecting her to scream and cry in my arms.  I reached out and gently took my baby from the Nanny's arms.  Kate looked hard at me...in the eyes...like she had seen me before...which actually she had because Caroline and I had sent her a family photo book with all of our pictures.  She didn't cry at all...she was very stoic.  She let Sean and Caroline hold her too and she never cried.  We stayed in the hot office for awhile...actually much longer than we really wanted to...but I had written down a lot of questions for the Nanny and I wanted to have Sissia translate for me.  Sean and I played with Kate a bit by holding her in the air and she laughed and smiled.  I was just shocked that she was so calm.  I truly felt God's peace surrounding us!  Everything that I had been hearing from folks from the Orphanage is how anxious Kate is around strangers and she was so calm.  I am so thankful for everyone's prayers.  We all felt them including Kate!  

 

We did have some time with the Nannies and some other ladies from the Orphanage.  The one Nanny, Tian Yan Xia, who has been in many of the photos of Kate that I have received was there.  This is the one that had been to shy to ask the Orphanage Director if she could make the trip.   She told me that Kate eats rice cereal flavored with veggies and drinks formula out of a bottle. She also gave me the schedule of Kate's sleeping and eating.  She gave me her email address too and asked that we send pictures of Kate to her.  She and the other Nanny were visibly upset and very teary when they left the office.  It made me emotional to imagine the loss that they feel leaving Kate here with people that they don't know.  It also made me glad that they felt so attached to Kate as I hoped that meant that Kate had gotten extra attention and care at the Orphanage.  

 

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at The Vanguard which is a grocery/Wal-Mart type of place.  We bought Kate a new stroller (pink of course!!), formula, vegetable flavored rice cereal, diapers, apple juice and some really big jugs of bottled water since we have to use it to brush our teeth.  Kate slept through most of the grocery store experience in Sean's arms...as Caroline, Mom and I motored through the aisles in a cart with a bad wheel.  The Vanguard was absolutely packed and the whole scene was hilarious...especially since we all are such a spectacle...foreigners with Chinese children...it just causes such a stir and lots of chit-chat that we can't understand.  I will say...none of it appears to be negative.  Many of the women stopped us and gave us the thumbs up.  Several women who spoke a little English even said..."You are a nice lady, very special lady. You are a nice family"...and then point to Caroline and Kate...like we are "nice" for adopting them!  Wow!  They don't know me very well or seen me on a bad day!!  But seriously, that mentality that Sean and I are in some way "nice" or "good" people because we have taken these children in always strikes me as so so odd...as if we are able to offer Caroline and Kate more than they could possible give to us.   Parenting these girls is a gift to our family!  Anyone who has ever met our Caroline can't miss the beautiful treasure that she is.  Our lives are so enriched by living with and loving her everyday.  I know it will be the same with sweet Kate!     

The girls took a bath together when we got home...it was big fun!  Kate loves to take a bath and Caroline and Kate were so cute together in the tub.  We gave Kate a bottle and then she fell fast asleep.  I put her in the crib and she slept really well all night.  She did wake up crying around 2:00 am, but quickly went back to sleep when I patted her back. 

 

Kate appears pretty healthy...I am not sure how much she weighs, but she is solid and she loves to eat!  She has worn some 12 mo size clothing and some 18 mo clothes.  She seems much younger than 2 yrs 4mos which is how old she supposedly is. 

 

Sorry it took so long to post our Gotcha Day pictures.  We have been so busy with Adoption Registration, Passports sightseeing, etc...we have just been beat when we get home at night.  I will catch you up on the other days soon.

Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers.